32581 RX Wholesaler RFP Addendum 2 32581 2023.04.04.pdf

MMCAP Infuse Request for Proposals (RFP) Addendum

Addendum #1

Addendum No.: 2 Date of Addendum: April 4, 2023

Due Date, Time:

MMCAP Infuse RFP

April 13, 2023, 2PM Central Revised Date

Time: May 5, 2023, 2PM Central Department of

Administration/MMCAP

Coordinator Nalee Xiong Agency:

OSP Web Reference No.: 32581

Infuse

Title: Pharmaceutical Wholesaler Distribution Services

Scope of Addendum

The following information is an update:

1. All references to the proposal due date will be revised from April 13, 2023, 2PM Central to May 5, 2023, 2PM Central.

The following are answers to questions submitted to MMCAP Infuse:

1. Question: Can a Responder have access to the RFP Data and Cost Proposal Worksheet If they do not meet the annual revenue requirement of: Responder will provide evidence of $750 million or more in annual revenue from pharmaceutical distribution services?

Answer: No, only Responders who meet all the pass/fail requirements will be provided RFP Data and Cost Proposal Worksheet.

2. Question: For Attachment A and Attachment C, are we able to substitute "top government customers" with "top customers" in the event that there are no additional top government customers with comparable volume and sales?

Answer: MMCAP Infuse is asking for Responders’ top government customers and government references. Please do your best to align with services similar in size scope, volume, and sales of government customers.

3. Question: On Exhibit C it states under “Select All that Apply – Equal Pay Certificate Under the name: – Not Applicable – MMCAP Infuse WESA exemption memo dated Dec. 17, 2018.” Is the Equal Pay Certificate WESA exemption from 2018 still in effect?

Answer: Yes, MMCAP Infuse contracted vendors are exempt from holding an Equal Pay Certificate, however, a Workforce Certificate is still required.

4. Question: Can you please provide the State utilization broken down by WAC/GPO/340B?

Answer: MMCAP Infuse will provide a state level utilization report broken down by WAC/GPO/340B to Responders who have returned the signed attestation.

5. Question: Is the request for an Admin Fee of three percent (3%) on page 45 negotiable?

Answer: MMCAP Infuse will negotiate specifics with the awarded Responders. If an agreement cannot be reached, the negotiations would end.

6. Question: Can you confirm that 340B and WAC account sales should be eliminated from the Admin Fee to MMCAP Infuse since admin fees would be obligated to another GPO for these sales?

Answer: A Responder would not pay an admin fee on 340B purchases because those are due to Apexus, but a Responder would pay the admin fee on WAC sales because those are non-contract sales, so they are not obligated to any other GPO.

7. Question: The request, as drafted, contemplates that subsidiaries of the Responder could provide services and products to Members. Can you confirm that the structure of a Respondent utilizing immediate and ultimate parents (instead of subsidiaries) is acceptable to provide services and products to Members?

Answer: This is acceptable as long as they are all under the same corporate umbrella.

8. Question: Is Responder required to have a relationship with all MMCAP Infuse Contracted Suppliers if there is a reason why a relationship cannot be established? Please define “relationship.” Does this mean a written and executed agreement between Responder and Supplier?

Answer: No, a Responder is not required to have relationships with all of these suppliers, but a Responder will be evaluated and scored based on the number of established relationships submitted in their proposal. The relationship between the Responder and Contracted Supplier means the Responder has the capability of performing a chargeback to the contracted price MMCAP Infuse has negotiated without additional fees or costs to MMCAP Infuse or the Members.

9. Question: Is it possible for the Responder to service less than the 5 States which is stated as the minimum requirement on page 7?

Answer: No, the five state minimum is a pass/fail requirement.

10. Question: If Responder designates itself as a regional vendor and is awarded a contract, is it prohibited from marketing to other States which were not identified in its Proposal?

Answer: Responders should identify ALL states in their proposal for which they are authorized and willing to provide service. If a Responder expands their service region between the time the RFP closes and when states select a wholesaler, the agreement may be amended. Responders would not be allowed to market to states not identified in their contract.

11. Question: Are the outsourced or subcontracted services mentioned in question 3 pertaining solely to the performance of the duties as set out in the resulting contract from this RFP?

Answer: Yes, but that scope does include delivery services, inspectors, sanitation, IT services, or any other services the Responder may propose in their value-added services.

12. Question: Pertaining to question #110: Is there an industry standard response time for loading pricing and product changes for contracts received from Suppliers in either format that will be used by the Evaluation Team for the purpose of scoring this question?

Answer: All Responders will be evaluated and scored based on the abilities they present in their response. Evaluators will be comprised of primarily pharmacists or pharmacy technicians who have worked in a pharmacy and/or are familiar with Member requests and concerns. They will score each question based upon their understanding of the industry. Generally speaking, a quicker response time for loading changes would result in a higher score.

13. Question: Pertaining to question #115, what is meant by “How are products ranked” in Responder’s ordering system (e.g., price, quality, type etc.) and what is meant by “default?” Is there an Industry Standard that will be used by the Evaluation Team to assess the points for the response to this question?

Answer: This question is in the “Ordering Process” category and is referring to the Responder’s online ordering system. When a Member searches for a product, how will comparable products be shown in descending order? For example, Responder might list products by lowest price, by generic source program, or may have a quality measure they implemented to identify higher quality items to be listed first.

Default is the pre-selected option identified by Responder when no alternative is specified.

Evaluators will use their experience and industry knowledge to score each question based upon their perceived need or preference.

Evaluators will use their own industry experience and expertise to score responses as they see it being appropriate for MMCAP Infuse Members.

14. Question: Pertaining to question #134: Is there an Industry Standard that will be used by the Evaluation Team to assess the points for the response to this question?

response. Evaluators will use their pharmacy and industry experience to score the picking accuracy.

15. Question: Pertaining to question #138: Is there an Industry Standard that will be used by the Evaluation Team to assess “what percentage of totes” should be audited for quality control and for what time period (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly…etc.)?

Answer: Evaluators will evaluate and score using their industry knowledge and experience to determine the need for auditing totes. Evaluators will score responses according to their understanding of the industry and pharmacy experience with picking errors.

16. Question: Pertaining to question #140: Is the question pertaining to all of the Responder’s customers within their Proposal (i.e., a). National or b). Regional as referenced on p. 10/54)? Or can Responder provide detail regarding a specific customer?

Answer: Responder should provide proposed order and delivery schedule for how they propose to service Members in all 50 states. If the Responder provides detail for only a specific customer, it will be interpreted that this is the proposal for all Members.

17. Question: Pertaining to question #146: Please define what is meant by “emergent situations”. Is there a time element involved? Type of situation i.e., public health, weather emergency…etc.?

Answer: Emergent situations are those that will result in an order delay outside of the Member’s delivery timeframe. These delays may be due to weather, staffing, changes to a delivery route, or many other reasons.

18. Question: Pertaining to question #150: Can MMCAP Infuse define what an “emergency order” is versus a “routine order”?

Answer: An emergency order is one that is placed outside the typical ordering window or has an urgent timeline attached, such as an after-hours situation or one in which the facility cannot wait until the next routine delivery time to receive product in order to meet immediate and specific patient care needs.

19. Question: Pertaining to question #156: If Responder cannot or will not “open an account solely for limited distribution products,” will this negatively impact the Responder’s evaluation score?

Answer: Yes, a Responder will be evaluated based on willingness to assist Members to get access to the drugs they need which may only be available through limited distribution.

20. Question: Pertaining to question #156: How are “limited distribution products” defined?

Answer: MMCAP Infuse defines limited distribution products as items that are only available through a restricted number of distributors, based on manufacturer requirements.

21. Question: Pertaining to question #174: Is there an Industry Standard that will be used by the Evaluation Team to assess the points for the response to how many business days after resolution of an invoice dispute will a credit memo be issued?

response. Evaluators will use their pharmacy experience to gauge if the response will meet the needs of the Members.

22. Question: Pertaining to question #199: Please define “value-added services”. Are the “value-added services” listed in this question at no charge or can Responder charge a fee for these value-added services?

Answer: Value-Added Services are any additional services that would supplement the response taking into account Minnesota uses “Best Value Evaluation” standard when scoring and awarding.

These services can be free of charge or Responder may charge a fee. Any proposed fee must be listed the cost proposal worksheet.

23. Question: Pertaining to question #199: Please clarify the statement at the end of the question, “Confirm if these services will be offered exclusively to customers utilizing Responder’s pharmaceutical wholesaler distribution services.” Is the “customer” the MMCAP Infuse Member who will be accessing the services from the Contract resulting from this RFP?

Answer: Yes

24. Question: Is Question #205 a. pass/fail requirement of this RFP and if so, why is it not listed in the pass/fail criteria on page 13?

Answer: All pass/fail criteria were identified on page 13 of the RFP. DSCSA enforcement has not been implemented yet and Responders do not necessarily need to have established relationships with the vendors by the response deadline. However, evaluators will score Responders on their capabilities identified in their response.

25. Question: Pertaining to question #217: Is there an Industry Standard that will be used by the Evaluation Team to assess the points for the response to this question?

response. The evaluation team will use their experience to determine the value of the response.

26. Question: Pertaining to question #219, is this a mandatory pass/fail requirement of this RFP and if so, why is it not listed in the pass/fail criteria on p.13?

Answer: The material objectives of the reports are required; however, the specific reports listed are not necessarily required, hence why MMCAP Infuse asks for potential “alternatives.”

Evaluators will score Responders on their capability.